June 2011

while it seems a bit ‘personal’ to share, i know i’m not the only one who got caught in the financial mess we all created. the initial fatality for me, was the loss of the rv – in the most embarrassing way i could think of. at the time, i thought it was ‘the worst that could happen’. hah! the ‘trickle down’ of that whole episode continued to eat away at our family situation – financially – and we nearly lost the house in the same fashion. but, the good Lord answered my prayers and got us thru. however, we have continued to struggle – and yesterday was a closing on all of my personal mess – the final hearing on my declaration of bankruptcy. and here i am, back again at “onward and upward”. that is as soon as all of this emotion comes up, thru and out!! even the sky has been weeping with me – very weird to have rain and 55 deg (that ‘cold day in hell’ i said it would take before i would ever declare bankruptcy?) at the very end of june!! i have been told it will be over 100 deg by the 4th. my my

i can say that for the most part, shows have been a little better this year. i am also being very frugal in my spending – on everything. any ‘extra’ $$ must go to keep us afloat – house-wise. tom’s work remains spotty as everyone tightening their belts and car maintenance often put off till emergency status. candace’s unemployment has expired and she has just one daycare client – hey, at least it’s a start!! my part time work has gone to very minimum and now done entirely from here. still, i am very grateful!!

i did get a lovely commission recently – 5 of the nearly nouveau blocks that i designed a simple setting for. i will do the applique and the piecing – she will have it quilted. we didn’t get to who does the binding. ^_^ i have been working on the first block – couldn’t start right away as i was out of town most of may. and then had 2 shows in june. i am attempting to get myself back to it today – thought i’d share the progress here. at least it’s a picture! ^_^ hmmm, now i’m thinking i did share about the wallhanging and posted a picture of my ‘pasted up’ design?? so here’s block #1 – almost.

oops, must have hit a wrong key – had the picture and then it disappeared when i went to type.

let’s try this again – ok, all is well.

and now i will return to needle and thread and see what i can accomplish.

how many times have i written “once again it’s been a long time . . . ” – and here it is again, a long time since i posted. have been many a mile since last we met! albq was ‘ok’, not as good as 2 years ago, still worth the drive, and i will go back in 2 years – God willin & the creek don’t rise. it IS a long drive, alone. ok, not quite ‘alone’ – just haven’t taught that dog to drive yet! ^_^ i managed to accomplish my goal getting there – just took a little extra time with a construction stop before barstow – like, out of the van walking around kind of stop! nearly 1 1/2 hrs. did not encounter that on the trip back – holiday weekend, and sunday at that. wasn’t sure how i was going to do it, on return. ended up doing in just 2 days, again. felt ok so wasn’t willing to lose another day ‘on the road’.

today i am headed to santa rosa. usually a good show. thought i hadn’t done so well last year, then checked the records. turns out it was 2009 that was the bummer year. so, hopes are high for this year. also get to spend time with ruth, always a good thing. plus, she is house/dog sitting right there in santa rosa, short drive to show – yea!

new hanging racks are working great. even did the setup that doesn’t require the half ‘wall’ across the front. my idea of inserting something into the corner post and hanging the rack from it, worked!! that is very good as i don’t have enough poles or crossbars to do the half wall if i have a 15 ft booth. life is good!